When Katniss Met Peeta
by Hunger Fangirl
Summary: Katniss is loving her sophomore year. How could she not? She has fantastic friends, a wonderful little sister, and her longtime friendship with Gale is growing into something more. But when a new boy moves in, her love life gets a lot more confusing. Should she stay with her childhood friend or take a chance on a handsome stranger?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: The T rating is for mild swearing.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games, but I wish I did!

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_Beep-beep. Beep-beep._

Katniss opened one eye to check the time. 7:40. She groaned and willed the alarm off, but it continued to beep. "Okay, I hear you!" she grumbled as she got up to turn it off. Now that the clock had been silenced, she could start getting ready for her day.

First, she checked Prim's bedroom to make sure her younger sister was awake. Surprisingly, Prim was already downstairs cooking breakfast. Katniss could smell the tantalizing scent of scrambled eggs and sausage coming from the kitchen. Her stomach grumbled, but she quickly showered and got dressed before going downstairs to eat.

She walked quietly into the room, intent on spooking her younger sister. Katniss sneaked up behind Prim and covered her eyes. Prim went perfectly rigid and screamed in surprise. Katniss laughed. "How are you today, Little Duck?"

Her sister relaxed. "Katniss, you scared me!" she said as she turned to glare at her older sister. "I almost dropped your food." She held out a plate covered in a heap of scrambled eggs and sausage.

"Mmm, thanks," Katniss grabbed a fork and took her first bite. Her sister was an amazing cook, able to make even simple meals seem exquisite. Katniss was so glad she'd given up on that diet and could enjoy her sister's cooking again. She didn't really need to lose any weight, and there was no reason to make herself miserable just to squeeze into a smaller dress size for homecoming.

"You'd better hurry. The bus will be here any time," Prim warned. Katniss looked up at the clock. _Damn. _She had maybe two minutes before they needed to be at the bus stop. She shoveled another spoonful of eggs into her mouth and ran to the bathroom. She grimaced when she saw her hair in the mirror, but there was no time to do anything about it now. Katniss stuck her brush and a couple of hair ties into her bag. Maybe Annie or Johanna would be able to do something with the tangled mess of curls before class. "C'mon, Katniss! I can see the bus!" She dashed downstairs and they ran together to the bus stop. They didn't get there quite in time, but they chased after it waving their arms, and it eventually stopped to let them on.

Katniss smiled. She'd had a delicious breakfast and they'd managed to catch the bus. She could already tell that today was going to be a good day.

"Cutting it a little close, aren't you, brainless?" Johanna asked as Katniss sat down in the seat next to her. "Who said you could sit here?"

She snorted. Though her friend seemed rude and standoffish, Johanna was actually the sweetest, most loyal friend anyone could ask for. "_I _said I could sit here." She grabbed the brush and hair ties out of her backpack, holding them out for her friend to see. "Help me?"

"Oh, Katniss, I think you need all the help you can get." Johanna pulled the brush through Katniss's shoulder-length black hair. Usually, their long bus ride was a pain, but today, Katniss was grateful for it. Johanna managed to coax out all the tangles and work Katniss's hair into a single braid.

"Thank you," she said, smiling.

"Just make sure it doesn't happen again." Katniss knew that was her best friend's version of 'you're welcome.' The bus stopped at the middle school, and Prim got off. "I'm so ready to be done with this," Johanna complained.

"Do you mean school or the bus?" Katniss asked.

"You mean I have to choose?" They both laughed. "Nah, the bus. Maybe my dad will give in and get me a car for my birthday. If he does, I'll totally give you a ride every day."

Katniss was happy for her friend, but Johanna's offhand remark about her father made Katniss miss her dad even more. Sometimes, it felt like Dad had died just yesterday, not three years ago.

Johanna didn't seem to notice her discomfort. "Welcome to hell," she muttered as the bus came to a stop and the doors swung open.

"It's not that bad," Katniss argued. She spotted Finnick, the tall, handsome star of the swim squad, walking into the building. She nodded towards him. "You've got to admit that some of the scenery is pretty nice."

Johanna smiled almost lecherously. "One drop-dead gorgeous man does not make up for eight hours of misery."

"I'm sure there're some other cuties too."

"Like Gale?" Johanna teased.

Katniss blushed. _Of course _Johanna would bring up her not-quite-boyfriend. Gale had been her friend since before she could walk. They had been neighbors for a long time, and their dads used to work together. He was ridiculously smart and handsome, and they were on the archery team together. By the way Gale would steal glances at her when he thought she wasn't looking, Katniss suspected that he had a bit of a crush on her. She definitely had one on him, but she was hesitant to ask him out. What if she'd read him wrong and he really wasn't interested in her like that? She didn't want to ruin their friendship.

"Lighten up, Everdeen." Johanna punched her in the arm. The first bell rang. "Shit, we're gonna be late. I'll see you at lunch!" She sprinted into the building.

Katniss hurried to her first class, collapsing into her seat in the back a couple minutes before the tardy bell rang. She dug a notebook and a pencil from the bottom of her book bag. English wasn't _too _bad, she supposed. Well, Ms. Trinket was a bit too perky for 8:30 AM, but the class itself was interesting. She loved to read, and English class allowed her to discover great new books and get class credit for it.

Cinna sat down next to her. "Did you see what Linda was wearing?" he whispered.

Katniss smiled and rolled her eyes. Cinna knew more about fashion than anyone, and though she wasn't particularly interested in clothes, it was always fun to listen to his opinions on people's outfits. "No, but I'm sure you'll tell me."

"It was this gorgeous saffron-yellow dress," Cinna gushed. "It was a brilliant design. I wish I'd come up with it myself. I've got to say, though, it didn't really do much for her complexion. It'd look better on a more olive-skinned girl like you."

"Sounds nice." Katniss didn't really know what else to say. Even after two years of hanging out with Cinna, she couldn't carry on an intelligent conversation about anything regarding clothes or hair. "Hey, Cinna, will you help me pick out a homecoming dress? I know it's not time yet, but I've got no idea where to even start."

Cinna beamed. "Of course! We'll go to the mall and make a date out of it."

"Thanks."

Ms. Trinket walked into the room as quickly as she could on her too-high heels. "Hello class!" she greeted them. "I want to get started right away – we've got a big, big, big day planned!" Katniss wasn't sure if their English teacher drank far too much coffee or if she was naturally this energetic. Really, either way, it wasn't decent to be that awake this early in the day. "Turn to page ninety-four in your textbooks. We're going to start on Shakespeare!"

Katniss searched for her English textbook in her back pack, but she couldn't find it. "Mind if I look on with you?" she asked Cinna. He nodded and pushed his book towards her.

"This is my personal favorite of Shakespeare's plays," Ms. Trinket continued. "There's a reason it's probably his most famous piece. There's humor, romance, tragedy, everything you could ask for in one work. Truly a masterpiece. We'll try to get through the first act today, and whatever's left will be your homework for this evening."

She couldn't help but notice that the teacher still hadn't actually introduced the piece yet. Katniss looked to Cinna, who raised his eyebrows and pointed to the page. _Romeo and Juliet_. Katniss smiled. This should be interesting.

Ms. Trinket started to read the first page out loud. Her voice was wonderfully expressive, and Katniss found herself being pulled into the story. She knew what happened to the two lovers, but she still wanted to know exactly how their sad fates came about.

Katniss was disappointed when Ms. Trinket stopped. Cinna tugged on her sleeve and winked, silently instructing her to turn around. An unfamiliar boy had come into the room. He had neatly combed blond hair, and his blue eyes were nervous. "Hello, I'm a new student," he said. He sounded very confident for this being his first day in a new school.

"Come, come!" Effie motioned him to the front of the room. "What's your name, dear?"

"Peeta Mellark. You're Ms. Trinket?"

"Yes. How nice to meet you, Peeta. You have wonderful timing. We're starting _Romeo and Juliet _today."

The boy smiled. "Glad I won't have to play catch-up."

"Let's find a spot for you. Why don't you sit back there, next to Katniss?" The teacher pointed to the empty desk next to her.

Peeta smiled at her as he sat down. He took out his own book and flipped to the correct page, and the lesson started again.

All too soon, the bell rang, signaling that it was time for her next class. Katniss packed up her books, but the blond boy stopped her from leaving. "It was nice to meet you, Katniss," he said, holding out his hand for her to shake.

She shook his hand. "You too."

"I'll see you around."

"I look forward to it," she replied honestly. "Have a nice day." A smile tugged at her lips as she walked to history. She'd been right. Today was definitely a great day.

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A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I really hope you like the story. I would love to hear what you think of it!


	2. Chapter 2

"Haymitch, let me in." Katniss banged on the door to the janitor's closet. She knew he was in there.

The door swung open. "Good morning, sweetheart." Mr. Abernathy, Panem High's full-time drunk and part-time janitor, let her into his cramped office. "What can I do for you?"

Katniss settled herself into the folding chair Haymitch kept in the corner, moving a mop and bucket out of her way first. "Can you give me a note to get out of PE? I don't want to go."

Haymitch raised one eyebrow. "Why would I do that? Isn't physical exercise part of a balanced curriculum or whatever shit the talking heads are spewing about these days?" He took a long swig from his coffee cup. Katniss knew it held more than coffee.

"What if I help you clean during that period?"

"Sweetheart, if I give you one of the doctor's notes now, it won't be there for a day you really need it. Now, go to class. Make me think I'm not wasting my tax dollars on you." Haymitch gestured towards the door.

Katniss smiled. "It was worth a try, right?"

"Always. Go give 'em hell, Everdeen." He winked at her and tipped his cup in her direction. "Do you need a note for your next class?"

She shook her head. "No, I've got chemistry next. Beetee gets so excited about his lectures that I doubt he'll even notice me coming in late."

Haymitch snorted. "He's a weird one all right. Nice guy. I'll see you later."

She thanked him and left. Haymitch had been good friends with her father, and after Mr. Everdeen's death in a mining accident three years ago, he had become almost a father figure to Katniss and Prim. He drove them to and from school on snowy days and came to the school events that their mother had avoided these last three years. Katniss felt like she could tell Haymitch anything, and she was grateful to have him in her life, but she really wished he would be a bit more liberal with those doctor's notes. It wasn't like he didn't have an entire file cabinet filled with the fakes he confiscated because he didn't want kids making trouble in the hallways while they were supposed to be in gym. Mr. Brutus, the P.E. teacher, wasn't smart enough to spot the forgeries, but Haymitch could spot a fake from a mile away.

Just as she'd suspected, Beetee didn't even seem to notice when she slipped into his class five minutes late. She took her spot next to Gale. He smiled at her and pushed his notebook closer so that she could see everything he'd written. Katniss was so glad Gale was in this class with her. He was great at science in general and chemistry in particular, and, except for Wiress, he had the best grades in the class. Though Katniss usually understood the lesson, she could sometimes use some help, and Gale was always willing to tutor her through a particularly difficult unit.

Today didn't seem to be one of those days. She breezed through the lesson, even completing the homework for tomorrow before the class was over. Katniss was so caught up in her studies that she didn't notice the note Gale had slipped to her until he poked her with his pencil. _Thanks_, she mouthed, and she unfolded the piece of paper.

_Is Prim okay?_

Katniss tried to think of any reason Prim wouldn't be fine. Well, besides the usual. Her family wasn't the most normal. _I think so, why?  
__I don't know. Rory thought something was up with her. He said she's been really quiet at school lately_.

What could be wrong with Prim? Nothing had changed at home, her classes were going well, and Katniss was pretty sure Prim wasn't fighting with any of her friends. _I'll check with her when I get home. Thanks for letting me know, Gale_.

_Anytime._

Katniss smiled at his response. He was such a sweet guy. Totally boyfriend material. She swiftly stuck the note in her bag as Mr. Latier finished his lecture and turned the lights back on. She suspected he wouldn't be angry, but it was probably better if their teacher didn't see that they'd been writing notes in class.

"Tomorrow, we'll do lab work, so remember to wear long pants, tennis shoes, and any individuals with long hair should have something to tie it back with. I would like to keep your bright young minds and nice smiles as intact as possible." A nervous wave of laughter went through the room. They'd never done a _real _lab before, and everyone was a bit nervous. "Any questions in our last few minutes?"

When no one raised their hand, Beetee let them leave a couple minutes early for lunch. Her mother hadn't bothered to put lunch money in Katniss's account in forever, so she couldn't eat today, but she still enjoyed the time to socialize. This was the only time that she saw Johanna during the day, and they could always find something to talk about. Her friend was sitting by the vending machines, as far as possible from the popular kids at the center of the cafeteria. Katniss thought Glimmer, Cato, Marvel, and the rest of the popular crowd were all right, but Johanna absolutely hated them. Considering the way Clove had bullied Johanna in sixth grade, Katniss couldn't really blame her.

Today, Annie was sitting with them. Her long, dark hair wasn't pulled back today, so it flowed wildly in every direction. Katniss could barely see her beautiful green eyes beneath the mess. "Hey, Annie!" she said as she sat down.

"Not going to say hello to me? Am I not worth your time?" asked Johanna.

"Hi, Katniss," Annie replied.

Katniss smirked at Johanna. "Johanna! You're here too? No wonder I didn't notice an insignificant commoner like yourself." Katniss struck the most ridiculously snooty pose she could manage. Annie laughed.

"That's a good look for you, Katniss. I think you should freeze yourself like that." Katniss jumped at the sound of Finnick's voice. The gorgeous, bronze-haired swimmer sat down at their table. "Hello, Annie. Mason." He smiled towards Annie and shot a fake glare at Johanna.

Johanna snorted. "Shouldn't you be over there with your friends, Odair?" she asked, annoyed.

"Leave him alone, Jo," Annie said in the strongest voice Katniss had ever heard from her. "He can sit where he wants."

Finnick flashed a grateful grin towards Annie. "So, Annie," he started. "I was wondering if you'd like to hang out sometime." Katniss barely managed to keep her jaw from dropping. The cutest boy in school was asking Annie out?

"I'd love to," Annie replied. She smiled at him. "What would you like to do?"

Finnick turned pink. "I don't know yet. I'm kind of surprised you said yes, actually. Umm, how does pizza sound?"

"Great. I look forward to it, Finnick," she said.

"You got what you came here for, Odair. Get out," Johanna ordered.

This time, Annie didn't reprimand her friend. "I'll see you in biology," she said. Finnick flushed with happiness and said goodbye to all of them.

Katniss waited until he was out of earshot to squeal. "Oh my god, Annie, you're really going to go out with him!" She was so excited for her friend.

Annie smiled. "Yeah, I'm pretty happy about it." Somehow, her friend was still calm.

"You let me know if he tries anything," Johanna said. "I'll take care of him."

"Don't worry, Johanna, Finnick is a really sweet guy. I've been talking to him a lot because we have calculus together." Annie took another sip of her orange juice. "Okay, enough about me. How's your morning been, Katniss?"

She shrugged. "It was pretty good, I guess. There was a new boy in my English class."

"Cute?" asked Johanna.

"Very. His name's Peeta, and he seems pretty nice. I haven't seen him in any of my other classes, though."

"Is that him?" Annie pointed to the center of the lunchroom, where a familiar-looking blond boy was sitting with Glimmer and Clove.

Katniss sighed. "Yep, that's Peeta." Johanna barely spared Peeta a glance before returning her attention to her sandwich. Katniss tried not to let her heart sink. The popular kids were all right, and she was glad that Peeta was making friends at his new school, but she'd hoped she would be able to get to know him better. Now that Peeta was in with the popular kids, she doubted that he would want to hang out with her and her friends.

"It's okay, Katniss. I'm sure things will work out," Annie comforted her.

"Yeah, they will. Thanks, Annie."

"Do you want some rice? My mom gave me extra." The other girl offered Katniss a Tupperware bowl half-filled with fried rice.

She accepted it gratefully. "Thank you so much. I'm starving."

"Then stop yapping and start eating, brainless," Johanna laughed.

Katniss took a big bite of the rice. Delicious. She really did have the greatest friends ever.

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A/N: There's Chapter 2! I hope you liked it. Thank you so much to everyone for reading, and special thanks to the people who followed or reviewed. Reviews are very welcome – I'm excited to see what you all think of the story. Thanks again!


	3. Chapter 3

Katniss shifted restlessly in her seat. It wasn't that she hated history class; she just wanted it to end so she could finally go to archery practice. Mr. Heavensbee was droning on in front of the class about some battle in the Civil War, and though Katniss would usually be interested in anything as gory as the photos he was showing, she couldn't focus during the last class of the day. She glanced around the room. Judging by the number of people resting their heads on the desks, she was one of the few students still awake. At least she'd _tried _to look interested, right?

She looked over Peeta, who sat two rows away from her. Katniss was glad he was in this class; it would be nice to see him two times every day. He listened intently to Mr. Heavensbee and took notes in a blue notebook. Eventually, he must have noticed her staring at him, because he turned around and smiled. Katniss flushed and smiled back. She really hoped this room was dark enough that Peeta wouldn't see her reaction. She'd only known him for a day, and he would definitely think she was weird if he thought she already had a crush on him. She didn't. _Did _she? He was cute, smart, and nice. Peeta Mellark would probably make a great boyfriend.

Katniss shook that thought away. No reason to think of Peeta as anything more than a potential friend until she got to know him better. She looked up at the clock. _3:27_. Three minutes left of class. She closed her notebook. It wasn't as though she'd taken any notes anyway. Katniss slipped her supplies back into her book bag and watched the clock, counting down the seconds until she'd be free.

_Three, two, one… _"And by the end of the battle –" Mr. Heavensbee was interrupted by the bell. Katniss bounced out of her seat and practically ran to the gym. Archery practice was her favorite time of day, the time when she could hang out with Gale, shoot some arrows, and just be herself. There were only eight people on the archery team, and she was pretty good friends with almost all of them. She grabbed a quiver of arrows and a bow and went to stand next to one of the twins. The two boys, Castor and Pollux, were impossible to tell apart visually. Both had the same strong build and curly brown hair. The only way Katniss had learned to distinguish one from the other was to wait for one to speak; Pollux was mute, so Castor provided his voice. Some of the team had tried to learn sign language last year to better communicate with Pollux, but everyone except for Foxface had been absolutely terrible at it. "Hello," said the boy to Katniss's left. She smiled. It was always good to know which twin she was working with.

She took a deep breath and focused on the target. Katniss held that breath as she released the arrow. It didn't quite hit the bulls-eye, but it had come close. Castor whistled, and Katniss mock-saluted him. It _had _been a pretty good shot for a warm up, but she knew she could do better.

Katniss nocked the next arrow, but before she could fire, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her from behind. "Aagh!" she squealed, dropping her bow.

"How are you, Catnip?" asked Gale. He let go of her.

"You're just lucky I didn't shoot anyone. What were you thinking? You really could've messed up my aim and someone could have gotten hurt!"

Gale looked down at his shoes, his demeanor now grave. "I'm really sorry, Katniss. You're right, I wasn't thinking. I won't do that again." When he met her eyes again, Katniss could tell that he really did mean what he'd said.

"Be sure you don't. I won't be so lenient a second time." She wagged her finger too close to his face, and Gale squinted and backed away. Katniss giggled. "C'mon, let's do this."

Gale was her only _real _competition on the team. They had both learned to shoot in elementary school, and after years of practice, she and Gale both had nearly perfect aim. Coach Atala sent them off to the other part of the gym while she did some simpler exercises with the other team members. She and Gale made a game of shooting the target from across the gym, each firing three arrows into the target to see who could hit closest to the center. Katniss won their friendly competition. Her arrows had all lodged themselves into the bullseye and the slender ring around it, while one of Gale's shots had almost missed the target completely. "You're too good at this, Catnip," he complained.

"Oh, poor Gale. Should I go easy on you from now on?"

He nodded. "Of course you should."

"Never!" She pushed him back gently, and playing along, Gale pretended to stumble back.

By this time, the rest of the team had joined them. They did a few group exercises, but then practice was over.

"You need a ride?" Gale asked, more out of habit than anything else. Katniss's mother hadn't picked her up in years; every day they had archery practice she needed a ride home. She nodded, and they went out to Gale's car together.

Katniss enjoyed this time with Gale. Yes, he had a crappy old car that made somewhat scary noises when they went around a turn too fast and smelled a bit off, but it was the only time they could really be alone together. Her relationship with Gale was so open; they could talk about problems at home together just as easily as they could joke about a silly video online. Today, their conversation was strained, and Gale looked nervous. Katniss let most of the car ride pass in silence, but when they stopped in her driveway, she felt like she needed to say something. "What's wrong, Gale?" she asked.

"Nothing." He didn't convince her.

Katniss shifted so that she was closer to him. "You can tell me Gale, what's wrong?"

He didn't answer her. Instead, he moved until their lips were hardly a centimeter apart. Katniss leaned forward to complete the kiss. It wasn't anything like she'd expected kissing to be. His lips were soft and warm and tasted a bit like chapstick. She moved her hands up so that her fingers could card through his hair, and he cupped her face in both palms. Katniss was amazed by how nice this felt. No, nice wasn't the right word, how _fantastic _this felt.

Eventually, they broke away for air. "That was… unexpected," Katniss said, her voice shaky.

"Yeah." Gale nodded. "Was it all right?"

Katniss answered him by kissing him again. She was certain she could spend her entire life kissing him and never get tired of these sensations. "Better than all right," she said once they separated again.

"Good. I mean, cool. Um… so I'll see you tomorrow, right?" Gale looked happy, but he was still tripping over his words.

She nodded. "Yeah. Bye, Gale." She gave him a little wave as she stepped inside her house. Katniss closed the front door and leaned against it. She smiled. She had no idea where her relationship with Gale was headed, but she was glad he felt the same way.

xxx

**A/N:** Hello again! I'm sorry for the delay – I'm pretty busy during the week (and a lot of weekends too, unfortunately) so I won't be able to update quite as frequently as I would like. Don't worry, I'm still working on this, it just might come very quickly. Thank you to everybody who favorited, followed, or reviewed. Your feedback really means a lot to me. Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

For long minutes, she stayed there, pressed against the front door, just thinking about what had occurred. Katniss wondered if this was what being in love felt like, light and airy and beautiful. She closed her eyes and relived the moment that Gale's lips had been pressed to hers. Finally, though, she pushed herself away from the door. This wasn't the kind of thing you could neglect to tell your best friend about. She needed to call Johanna. Katniss walked as if in a dream to the kitchen, where Prim was doing her homework. "How was school?" her little sister asked.

"Perfect." Katniss knew the grin on her face must look incredibly stupid, but she didn't care. She was too happy to mind what other people thought of her.

"What happened at school that made it so perfect?" Katniss could hear the teasing in Prim's voice, and when she looked over at her sister, she could see a smile playing at the edges of Prim's lips.

Katniss spun in place and wrapped her arms around herself in a hug. "Gale kissed me!"

"Oh my god, really?" Prim looked excited. "Katniss, that's fantastic! He's such a sweetie – the two of you will make a great couple!"

She picked up the phone. "I should probably call Johanna now. She'll kill me if she isn't the first to know."

"You already told me!" Both of them giggled. "Yeah, she's definitely going to kill you. I'll cry at your funeral." Katniss snorted, but she knew Prim If Johanna got really mad, there was no telling what she might do.

The phone rang several times before her friend answered. "Who is this and why are you calling me?" She sounded grumpy.

"Is that any way to greet your best friend?" Katniss asked. Prim, who was still sitting at the kitchen table, giggled.

She heard a growl on the other side of the line. "You said we were friends, Everdeen? I know I certainly didn't. Actually, never mind. I've only got a minute, so we'd better get to it. What's up?"

"Gale kissed me!" she practically squealed into the phone.

There was a silence on the other end of the line, but eventually Johanna replied, "Really? That's all you're going to tell me? No details, no reactions, no nothing?"

Katniss rolled her eyes at Prim and took the phone as far as the cord would allow away from her younger sister. It was times like this that Katniss really wished they had enough money for her to get a cell phone. "Okay, Prim can't hear us anymore. What kind of details are you looking for? I'm new to this kissing thing, remember, so I'm not sure what you want to know?"

"Well, what was it? Just a peck, or was it a bona fide make out session?"

Even though nobody was there to see her, Katniss blushed. "No, it was just a kiss. It lasted – I don't know, maybe ten seconds? Nothing weird happened; it was just like a regular hug, but our mouths were touching too."

Johanna snorted. "That's the best description I've ever heard of kissing. 'It was just like a regular hug, but with mouths, too.' God, Katniss, stop being such a fucking romantic."

"Shut up, Jo." Katniss glanced into the room to check that Prim wasn't listening in. Her sister was still seated at the kitchen table, so Katniss decided it was safe to continue. "I think I love him," she admitted.

She heard a gasp on the other side of the line. "Really?" Johanna sounded shocked. "You've never mentioned any of this before! Fuck, Everdeen, I don't see you for a couple hours and you decide you're in love?" Her friend's voice got louder and louder as she spoke, and soon Katniss had to hold the phone a foot away from her ear.

"Shh, Prim can probably hear you!" she hissed.

With that, Johanna finally stopped her rant. Her voice became calm and soft. "I don't think you're really in love, Katniss. I think you're just confused and want to be in love because you've never felt anything like this before."

"I think I know my own feelings, thank you very much. Great friend you are." she snapped back. Katniss wanted to hang up on Johanna for trying to tell her what she should be feeling. She was her own woman; she knew her emotions better than anyone else.

"Katniss? Katniss, are you still there?" She didn't care if Johanna wanted to talk to her. God, that girl was such a pain in the ass sometimes. The silent treatment was petty, but maybe it was the right

That type of thinking would get her nowhere. Johanna was only trying to help. She forced herself to swallow her pride and brought the phone back to her lips. "Okay, I'm sorry, Jo, that was uncalled for." Katniss took another deep breath. "Why do you think that?"

"Katniss, besides Prim, you don't really have a family. I think maybe you're trying to fill that gap in your life by falling in love too quickly. Yes, Gale's a great friend, but I don't think you should rush into things. That's just asking for trouble later on."

She had to admit that Johanna's worries were valid. "I'm not sure that's what's happening, but thanks anyway," she said. Katniss wasn't trying to replace Mom and Dad's love with Gale, was she? "Look, I've got to go now, but I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"See you then, brainless. Try not to find a new guy before then." Katniss heard a click from the other end of the line. As usual, Johanna hadn't waited for her to say goodbye.

Prim still sat in the kitchen, still working on her math homework. "Having fun?" Katniss asked.

Her sister shrugged. "It's all right, I suppose. It's just math, so it's not too hard, and I'll have to get used to it if I ever want to go to medical school."

"Well, I don't like it. Maybe you can do mine." Katniss plopped her heavy trigonometry book down next to Primrose, causing the entire table to shake.

Prim wrinkled her nose. "I haven't taken any of that stuff. I'll do it, though, if you want to fail."

Katniss shrugged. "Why not, Mom won't care." Haymitch would be furious if he learned that she hadn't tried hard in school, but he wasn't her father. He couldn't do anything to her. She pushed her homework towards her sister, but Prim wouldn't take it. "Fine, I'll do it myself." It would probably be good to get her mind off of Gale anyway.

Cosine functions made her brain hurt. Why did she need to learn about squiggly lines? She slammed her book shut and looked over at Prim. "By the way," she started, "I was talking to someone at school today, and they think you've been kind of quiet recently. Is there something going on that I should know about?"

Prim shook her head. "No, I'm fine. 'Someone' is Gale, right? Yeah, I haven't been talking to Rory quite as much for a while. He's hanging out with some kids I don't really like."

Katniss was relieved. Prim had a rough enough life as it was; she didn't need to be having problems at school on top of it. "You know you can always tell me if something's wrong, right? I'll never judge you."

"Yeah, I know." Prim gave her a hug. "I'll be fine, Katniss, but thanks."

She pressed her sister even closer to her chest. "You let me know if anyone's ever giving you a hard time, and I'll rip their heads off."

"That's a lovely mental image."

"Okay, I'll shoot them through the eye instead."

Prim pretended to gag. "Not much better. With your bow?"

"What else?" A thought came to Katniss as they laughed. "Do we have any food in this house?" With the way Mom had been recently, it had been up to Katniss to do the household chores, but they didn't always get done.

"We might have something," Prim said. She went to the cabinet to check. "Nope. Unless you want to eat canned tomatoes for dinner. In that case, we're covered." She held out two cans of tomatoes. "It's the only thing in the entire pantry."

Katniss groaned. She really didn't want to go to the grocery store tonight, but it looked unavoidable. "You're sure we don't have anything? We had a great breakfast."

"That was the last of everything. There's one egg and some mustard in the fridge. Come on, Katniss, let's try something from the new bakery."

Katniss couldn't say no to the wide-eyed, pleading look that accompanied that request. "Okay, go get your shoes on."

Prim squealed in delight and ran to grab her shoes. Katniss went to go grab her own shoes. She scribbled a note for Mom in case she wondered where she and Prim had gone even though she knew it was a waste of effort. All Mom cared about was work; she might not even notice that her daughters were gone. Still, Katniss stuck the piece of paper to the empty refrigerator. It never hurt to hope.

"Ready, Little Duck?" she asked Prim, who had returned. Her sister nodded. "All right, then. What are we waiting for?"

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**A/N:** Thanks for reading! Sorry that it's been a while. I really hope you're enjoying the story so far. Special thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, or followed. It's great to see that people are interested! Thanks again!


	5. Chapter 5

The cool, crisp fall air bit at Katniss's cheeks, turning them a rosy shade of pink as they walked down their street towards the main road. When she looked up, she could see that the leaves had turned colors, creating a rainbow canopy of reds, oranges, and yellows. Prim stopped every few paces to collect an especially beautiful leaf, and Katniss knew that her younger sister would spend the evening creating leaf crowns for the entire family.

"Are we going to play the walk and stop game all the way to the bakery?" Katniss teased when Prim kneeled down for the dozenth time.

The younger girl smiled up at her. "No, we're going to play Real or Not Real." She stood up and dusted a few clinging red leafs from her jeans. "You go first, Katniss."

She thought for a moment, but no great moment of insight came. "I have two quizzes and a test next Tuesday."

"That's not a very good question."

Katniss shrugged. "Right on two accounts – it's a statement and really not very good – but that doesn't change the rules of the game. Real or not real?"

Prim studied her, and Katniss did her best not to reveal the answer. "Real," Prim said. "You're not creative enough to come up with a good lie."

"Yes I am!" Prim allowed her words to hang in the air, and soon Katniss could no longer take it. "Okay, you're right. I don't have a single creative thread in my being, but I could come up with a better lie than that."  
"But that wasn't a lie, and I was right."

Katniss sighed. "Yes, Little Duck, it was. Now it's your turn."

Her younger sister must have had her words planned, because "You and Gale are going to go to homecoming together" flew out of her mouth almost before Katniss had finished her sentence.

Suddenly, Katniss was grateful for the cool breeze. Her cheeks were already pink, so Prim couldn't make out her blush. "I don't know yet. I'd assume so."

"Katniss, we'll have to find a dress for you! We can start looking at the thrift shops this weekend, and maybe you'll be able to get a really great one before everybody else starts shopping!" Prim's practically bounced with enthusiasm as she spoke. A wide grin adorned her face, and Katniss could feel a smile of her own spreading across her face. "You'll look so pretty!"

"_If _we go," she said. "Remember that Gale hasn't actually asked me yet."

"But he kissed you. He definitely wants to go. You two are boyfriend and girlfriend now, right?"

That gave Katniss a moment's pause. Were they? Gale hadn't actually said that they were, but he'd kissed her, and looking back at the last several weeks, they'd been close to having a relationship forever. She shrugged. "I suppose so."

But her younger sister was no longer listening. She had found another leaf to study, this one large enough that the little blonde girl could hide her face behind it easily. Katniss grinned and shook her head. They had been walking for at least ten minutes now; the bakery couldn't be too far from here. Katniss scanned the rows of shops in Panem's little downtown, but she didn't see a sign for it. "Prim, do you remember what this place is called?" she asked.

"It's some name that starts with an M," her sister answered. Her face screwed up in thought. "Millers, maybe? No, I remember, it's Mellark's."

"Okay, be on the lookout for it. I think it's right around here somewhere, but I can't find it." Mellark's. Where had she heard that name before?

The gentle scent of baking bread told Katniss that they must be close. Sure enough, when they rounded the next corner, Mellark's Bakery was not twenty steps away. A charming little storefront, it had a green awning that shaded a small outside dining room with wicker furniture, and a large window allowed Katniss a peek inside. "You ready?" she asked her younger sister, and when Prim nodded, she opened the heavy wooden door. A bell rang as they entered, and Katniss could hear shuffling noises from behind the counter. "Hello?" she said.

"I'll be with you in one second," a male voice replied. A couple more noises came from the back room, but quickly a figure emerged.

Katniss smiled when she realized who the blond, blue-eyed boy was. So that's where she'd heard the name before. "Hey, Peeta, how was your first day of school?"

"Katniss! It was great, thanks. Everyone in town seems so nice."

She didn't bother to correct him. Peeta was handsome and great with people; nobody would ever bother to pick on him. He'd do fine at Panem High School. "So, is this your dad's bakery?" she asked, trying to find some topic for conversation.

Peeta looked around with obvious pride. "It's my whole family's, actually. My parents have wanted to open a bakery pretty much since they got married, and they just saved enough money last year to quit their real jobs and open this place up. It's been a lot of work, but I like it a lot." He turned his attention back to her and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be weird. I'm just really proud of them."

"No, it's all right. It's awesome that they were able to do that." Katniss turned her attention to the displays of breads and pastries. "Ugh, they all look so good. Any recommendations?"

"I'm fond of these," he said, pointing to a flaky pastry formed into an S shape. They have a really great, subtle almond flavor to them, but they're probably not filling enough to eat for dinner, if that's what you're here for."

Prim had her face pressed against the glass of the display. Katniss wanted to tell her to move, that she'd leave prints all over the case, but she didn't want to embarrass her sister in front of Peeta, so she stayed quiet. "Ooh, I want one of those," Prim said. She gestured towards a plate of cookies with delicate purple flowers frosted onto them. They were incredible and must have taken hours to decorate.

"Good choice," Peeta agreed. He looked to Katniss. "Is this okay? I assume you're the one buying." When Katniss nodded, he asked Prim which one she'd prefer, then took it out of the case with a pair of silver tongs, wrapped it neatly in wax paper, and handed it to her. Prim thanked him. "How about you, Katniss? Have you decided yet?"

She shook her head. "Everything looks too pretty to eat. Does your family do all the decorating?"

He nodded. "I do a lot of it, actually. I'm pretty good with that kind of thing."

"That's so neat!" Katniss wondered if she was coming off as flirtatious. Peeta was nice and all, but she'd only just met him, and she already had a boyfriend. She didn't want him to get any wrong ideas. "Do you do art at school also?"

"I did at my old school. We had a great art club there, but I've been pretty busy helping here the last few weeks, so I haven't done anything new. Do you know if Panem High has a club?" He sounded happy just talking about art.

Katniss thought for a minute or two. _Did _they have one? "Yeah, at least I think so. Cinna's in some type of club like that, though, with him, it might be design instead."

Peeta grinned. "That's great."

"C'mon, Katniss, I need to go home at some point so that I can finish my homework," whined Prim.

"Okay, Prim, one second. Just let me pick something out." Katniss looked at the display one last time before making her choice. "I think I'll go with your suggestion." She pointed towards the oddly-shaped pastry, and Peeta got it out for her.

He rang up their bill, and Katniss paid. "I'll see you at school tomorrow," she said as she got ready to leave.

"Sounds great." Peeta waved, and she headed for the door after she returned the gesture. "Wait, Katniss," he said. She turned back, and she saw a worried look for just a second before he spoke again. "Umm… err, I, well, would you like some bread? We'll just throw it away if we don't sell it tonight, and we close in an hour."

"That would be great. Thank you."

Peeta grabbed a loaf off the shelves and wrapped it as well. He handed it to her and wished her goodnight.

"Thank you so much, Peeta. It was really nice to see you."

He smiled. "You too. Have a nice night."

"Bye."

She and Prim walked for about a block before her younger sister's face broke into an absolutely evil grin. "You've never told me about him before," Prim said.

"What's there to tell? He's new to school, and he's in my English class." Katniss inhaled the aroma of the bread. Heavenly.

Prim dragged her away from her thoughts. "And he's cute. _And _he has a crush on you."

"No, he doesn't. He's just polite."

"He totally does. Did you see the way he looked at you?"

Katniss rolled her eyes. "Don't be silly, Prim. I just met Peeta today. He doesn't like me like that."

"Keep telling yourself that, Katniss."

"I will, thanks. Now, eat your food. I don't want to hear another word about this." Prim dug into her cookie, but for Katniss, the conversation had only moved inside her head. Peeta couldn't possibly care for her this quickly. Could he?

xx

**A/N:** Hello again! I know, it's been forever, but I've been busy with school and other stories on a different account. Thanks for sticking with this and reading this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, followed, or favorited. It's fantastic to see that people are interested! I realize it's been a while since I updated, but I don't think I'll be able to return to my once-weekly updates – there's simply too much going on right now. Thanks in advance for being patient with me.


	6. Chapter 6

Her mother had left before Katniss woke up the next morning. She quickly, got ready, kissed Prim goodbye, and caught the bus. Today, she really needed to talk to Johanna. "Err… Johanna? Things just got more complicated," she said the second she sat down.

"What do you mean, complicated?" Johanna took another bite of her granola bar.

Katniss's stomach growled, but she continued, "You know how I called you last night about me and Gale?"

Johanna looked over to her, eyes narrowed. "Yes? You called me last night."

"Well, there's this other guy –"

"Everdeen, I specifically told you not to find another boyfriend before I saw you again!" Johanna put down her granola bar so she could focus entirely on her friend. "What the fuck were you thinking?"

She frowned and drew away slightly. "I did not get another boyfriend! There's just a really cute, really nice guy who works at the bakery and is in our grade who I think has a crush on me."

"Can you two be a quieter? I don't really want to know about either of your love lives." They both turned around to glare at Darius, the redheaded class clown, who just grinned and shrugged. "Well, it's true."

"Okay, tell me the details. Quietly." Johanna rolled her eyes at the last word, and Katniss had to smile. She gathered her thoughts for a moment, trying to think of where to start. "Can't be that hard, brainless. I haven't seen you in..." she glanced at her cell phone, "sixteen hours. I assume you slept for a couple of those, so there's probably less than ten hours of things to report. Go."

She took a deep breath and started. "I already told you about the kiss and all of that, right? So, my mom didn't bother to go grocery shopping this week, and I forgot to check whether or not she had, and we were all out of food. Literally all out – I think there were some cans of tomatoes or something and that was it. Anyway, that's not the point. Prim and I needed to eat, so I decided we'd try out the new bakery downtown."

"Brainless, anytime you want to get to the important part of this story is fine by me."

"Johanna, shut up and listen." The other girl leaned back in her seat and waited for Katniss to continue her story. "Do you remember Peeta from yesterday? The really cute guy from my English class? His family owns Mellark's, and he was working there last night. He was so sweet to us, and he gave us some bread, and I think he might like me." She paused for a second before adding, "And I might like him too."

Johanna nodded. "You're sure he isn't just that nice to everybody?"

"I'm not _sure _sure, but I don't think so. It just seemed to be kind of special. Am I making any sense right now?" Katniss was sure there was an absolutely stupid smile on her face.

Her friend laughed. "None at all, Everdeen, but I still get what you're trying to say. Anything else I should know before we get to school?" The bus was just starting to pull into Panem High's parking lot.

"Any advice?"

She shrugged. "Why don't you just see what happens? Peeta seems nice, and you know Gale's a great guy, so it's not like there's a bad choice in here. Go with the flow, Katniss."

Katniss looked over at her friend. "That's surprisingly deep, Mason."

"Aren't I just full of surprises?"

She grinned. "I suppose that's one word for it." She pulled her backpack up onto her shoulder with an _oomph _at the weight. "See you at lunch?"

Johanna gathered up her belongings as well. "Sounds like a date." They both got off the bus and went into the building. With a goodbye, they separated and started to go towards their lockers. "Oh, and Katniss?" she said. Katniss turned, her braid lifting off her shoulder as she spun around. "Go talk to Haymitch about this. He probably has better advice than I can give. And don't block the hallway." Johanna smirked and disappeared into the crowd.

Katniss grabbed her books from her locker and hurried to English class. Today, for the first time, she was actually excited to listen to Ms. Trinket's lecture… and see a certain someone.

Cinna was already waiting for her. "Hey, Katniss," he said as she sat down. "Are you coming over to Annie's on Friday to help her get ready? She said you were invited if you'd like."

She'd completely forgotten about Annie's date with Finnick. Katniss mentally kicked herself for not being happy for her friend. "Yeah, sure, Cinna, that sounds great!"

"I'm sure she'll be happy to hear it." He glanced towards the door, then leaned in and lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "So, what do you know about the new boy?"

A blush crept onto her cheeks. "Err, I saw him last night," she admitted. Cinna raised one brow in a wordless question. "He was working down at his parent's bakery. He's really nice, and I think he might have a little bit of a crush on me." Cinna's brown eyes were disappointed. "Sorry, I suppose I could be wrong about that."

He brushed it off. "No worries. It's pretty much par for the course, right?" Cinna smiled reassuringly. "I'll find someone."

"And Gale asked me out!" she said louder than she'd intended, earning a _shush _from Ms. Trinket. Several pairs of eyes turned towards her, and Katniss huddled back in her seat and waited for them to look away. Cinna looked amused, so she pushed him. She opened her mouth to continue her story, but then Peeta entered the room. "I'll tell you the rest later," she promised. "Hey, Peeta."

"Hi, Katniss. How are you?" He smiled at her, then turned his attention towards Cinna. "I'm really sorry, but I don't remember your name."

"It's Cinna. Nice to meet you, Peeta." The two boys shook hands as the bell rang and Ms. Trinket called everyone to attention.

Today, the woman was even more garishly dressed than usual. Her hair had been dyed pink and arranged into a ridiculous-looking knot, her minidress had a grey, blue, and pink butterfly print, and her heels were so high that Katniss wasn't sure how she could walk in them without breaking an ankle. "It's lovely to see you all today!" the woman began. "I'm very excited for our class today. We have the meeting of Romeo and Juliet!" She paused as though she expected some kind of reaction from her class. When a room full of tenth-graders just stared back at her, she laughed uncomfortably. "Well, not everyone has woken up quite yet, I see! We'll have to change that. What will get you all engaged with this master author?"

Cinna looked worriedly over at Katniss. Whatever Miss Trinket had planned, it wouldn't be fun.

"Oh, I know, a little play!" The teacher beamed out at the class. "Let's see, I'll need several roles filled, but the most important, of course, are the two star-crossed lovers themselves. Any volunteers for Romeo and Juliet?" The class was silent. "Hmmm… Peeta, you can be Romeo. And now for a Juliet. Miss Everdeen, will you do us the honor?"

Katniss froze as Miss Trinket called on other students for the smaller roles. Peeta smiled at her, but she didn't respond. Oh, dear. No, this wasn't going to be fun at all.

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**A/N:** Thanks for reading! I really hope you liked it!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Surprisingly enough, I didn't write _Romeo and Juliet, _but Shakespeare did. Anything that seems like a literary masterpiece doesn't belong to me.

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Katniss shifted impatiently, both longing for and dreading her own scene. It seemed so gooey and romantic – there was no way she wouldn't make a fool out of herself acting out this scene with Peeta. Why had Effie chosen the two of them anyway? Did the woman somehow know that she had more-than-a-bit of a crush on Peeta? Or could she sense that Katniss had forgotten to finish Act One last night? She glared at Ms. Trinket, but the teacher was far too caught up in the scene to notice. The woman's eyes were glazed with tears as she watched the performers and mouthed the words along with her students.

All too soon, the time for Peeta's lines arrived. "If I profane with my unworthiest hand, the gentle fine is this: my lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand, to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."

She watched his mouth as he spoke, transfixed. "Katniss, it's your line, dear," prompted Effie.

"Oh, sorry, umm…" she scanned the page, searching for her part. "Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this; for saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss." She wanted to run off the stage; did Ms. Trinket understand how humiliating this was?

Peeta had already started his lines. "… lips, and holy palmers too?" She would be happy to kiss those lips. If Peeta had been Romeo, she doubted Juliet would have resisted this long.

"Dear, you seem a bit out of it today. Would you mind if I asked someone else to take over your part?" asked the teacher.

She tried not to look to enthusiastic as she nodded and hurried back to her seat. Cinna grinned at her, and Katniss was certain he knew exactly what was bothering her. She scowled at him and ignored the boy for the rest of class, instead watching Peeta as he continued to read Romeo's part. A part of her was jealous of Madge, the girl Ms. Trinket had chosen to replace her as Juliet, but she had to admit that her friend was doing a fantastic job. She didn't read monotonously like Katniss had, but instead imbued every word with emotion. It wasn't hard to become lost into Verona, a land of romance and masquerade balls, and leave Panem High behind.

The bell jarred her from her daydream. "Reads scenes one, two, and three of Act Two for homework!" said Effie as her students rushed out of the room. Katniss made a mental note to actually remember to do her English homework tonight.

She hurried down the hall to Haymitch's office. "I see you're in a fantastic mood, sweetheart." The man leaned back in his chair. "I'm not giving you a note, so you might as well just hurry down to gym."

"I don't need a note. I need advice."

Haymitch looked surprised as she cleaned off a corner of his rickety desk. "Am I allowed to ask what type of advice you're looking for?"

"Relationship." She perched herself on the desk, and though it shifted slightly under her weight, it did not give way.

The janitor laughed. "The hell are you asking me about relationships for, girl? I'm forty-one years old, I'm a drunk, and I've never kept a girlfriend for more than two months. Trust me, if you need help, I'm the last one you should be talking to."

"But you're the only person I want to talk to about this." Katniss looked into his gray eyes, hoping he would see just how much she needed his help. "What other adults do I have to talk to? It's not like my mom's going to be any help."

"True enough. All right, Everdeen, shoot."

Katniss leaned forward. "Haymitch, this has to stay between the two of us."

He put a hand over his heart as though she'd physically hurt him. "Who else do you think I'm going to tell?" Haymitch set down his coffee cup. "Unless someone's hurting you. In that case, I'm going to rip him to shreds."

"No, nothing like that. It's kind of a long story. Do you have time?"

Haymitch groaned. "I said shoot, sweetheart. Stop putting it off. It's like a band-aid – better to rip it off quickly and get it over with than drag it out." He brought his coffe cup to his lips again and settled back to listen.

"Okay, so, you know Gale Hawthorne, right? His dad used to work with mine?" Haymitch nodded. "Well, he kissed me last night on the way home from archery practice, and I think we might have been kind-of dating for a while, and now I think we're actually going out." Katniss paused when she heard the man cough.

She looked up to see that Haymitch had spilled his coffee and vodka mixture on himself and was trying to pat it dry. She grabbed a cloth off the desk and handed it to him. "That's an awful lot of thinking, isn't it?" he asked as he dabbed and wiped at the stain.

"What do you mean?"

He set the cloth aside. "Well, you 'think' you've been dating for a while, and you 'think' that the two of you are 'actually going out'." The man made air quotes as he spoke, and Katniss laughed. "Why don't you just get it out in the open? Have a talk with Gale and discuss what the two of you actually are. It'll be awkward as fuck, but it'll clear up any misconceptions on either side." She nodded. Really, Haymitch did have the best advice. "If that's it, I'll write you a tardy pass to gym. Wouldn't want Brutus to get his panties in a knot wondering where you are, would we?" He pulled a tardy slip out of his drawer of fakes.

"But that's not my only problem," she said.

Haymitch turned to look at her, and when she smiled at him, he collapsed back down. "What else could there possibly be?" He tried to take a sip from his ever-present mug before realizing it was empty. "On second thought, wait a second. I'm not sure I'm drunk enough for this conversation." He took a flask out of his desk drawer and poured some of its contents into his cup. "Alright, sweetheart, go for it."

"There's also this other guy – Peeta, the new kid – who I think I like too. He's really, really nice, and something tells me that he likes me as well. But I don't want to hurt Gale's feelings, so I don't want to pursue anything with him." Katniss blew a stray hair away from her forehead. "What do you think?"

He thought for a moment. "Sweetheart, everything you just told me was pure speculation. Personally, I wouldn't mess up what you've got with Gale for something that might or might not ever happen. You're fifteen years old – 'forever' and 'love of your life' shouldn't even be on your radar. Just have some fun. Alright?"

Katniss nodded, digesting what he'd just said.

"And that Peeta kid does seem like a good guy," he continued, "Effie's been telling me about him."

"So, you're talking to Effie again, are you?" she teased.

Haymitch's blush extended all the way through his ears. "That ain't none of your business, kid. Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

She shrugged. "I suppose that I'll get out of your hair for a tardy slip."

"That sounds like a fair trade if there ever was one." He started to fill out the slip again, handing it to her when all the blanks were complete. She thanked him and turned to leave. "Oh, and Katniss?" Haymitch called behind her. She turned. "Don't worry too much about things like this, all right?"

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**A/N:** Thanks for reading, and special thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, or followed.

~HungerFangirl


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